More than 1,500 foreign students will have their visas restored by the Trump administration as the government faces over 100 lawsuits challenging its decision to revoke visas of students largely involved in anti-Israel campus activity.
The Justice Department made the announcement in federal court on Friday, saying the restoration of visas would be a temporary measure as Immigration and Customs Enforcement crafts changes to the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System to “provide a framework for status record termination.”
The Department of Homeland Security uses SEVIS to keep track of foreign students in the United States.
“ICE is developing a policy that will provide a framework for SEVIS record terminations,” a Justice Department lawyer said. “Until such a policy is issued, the SEVIS records for plaintiff(s) in this case (and other similarly situated plaintiffs) will remain active or shall be reactivated if not currently active, and ICE will not modify the record solely based on the NCIC finding that resulted in the recent SEVIS record termination.”
About 5,000 students have been erased from the SEVIS database or had their visas revoked, putting them at risk of deportation. Many students said their university or college barred them from attending classes and conducting research as a result.
The Justice Department received legal pushback for the termination of the visas, which is permitted if a student commits a violent felony or engages in outside work and fails to maintain full coursework. ICE suggested it has the “authority to terminate a SEVIS record for other reasons.”
“ICE maintains the authority to terminate a SEVIS record for other reasons, such as if the plaintiff fails to maintain his or her nonimmigrant status after the record is reactivated or engages in other unlawful activity that would render him or her removable from the United States under the Immigration and Nationality Act,” a DOJ attorney said.
THE PROBLEMS AND OPPORTUNITIES WITH TRUMP’S MASS DEPORTATION PLAN
Many of the students were charged with minor legal infractions or were involved in anti-Israel protests that took place across college campuses following the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Lawsuits were filed in more than 23 states. Last week, a Georgia judge ordered 133 visas to be restored.
The Washington Examiner reached out to ICE for comment.